"Huh?"
"Master, does that mean you plan to take me to another world?"
Thanks to being fed, Murasame had grown much closer to Setsuna.
She squeezed beside him and leaned over curiously.
"Yes. Just like the information you read says, we are a civilization from another world. We arrived here by accident while exploring the universe."
"Once we have finished resting, we will continue exploring even more distant places."
"Oh..."
For natives of a small rural village like Hoori Town, even traveling to a large city was an extraordinary event.
They would never even dare dream of visiting somewhere like Tokyo.
The picture Setsuna painted for them already far exceeded anything they could imagine.
"Huh..."
"Master is going to take Murasamemaru and me to other worlds to cleanse corruption, slay demons, and protect even greater lands?"
"Murasamemaru has never possessed such a grand mission since the day it was created."
Murasame held Murasamemaru in her hands and examined it carefully for a while.
Her connection with it remained intact. She was still the divine blade's administrator, but the divine power contained within it had increased by several orders of magnitude.
In the past, she had been capable of summoning and repairing Murasamemaru, as well as supplying it with power. Now, she could probably only wipe dust from the blade and perform routine maintenance.
After Setsuna's enhancement, Murasamemaru was even stronger than she was.
"Should you need it, I can ask Tiamat to create a body for you, or we can retrieve your divine vessel. Then your spirit and flesh can become one."
Setsuna replied.
"You can continue moving around as a spiritual body or assume a physical form. Either is fine. The Starsea Empire has abundant magical energy, so everyone will be able to see you even in spiritual form. Eating, sleeping, and bathing will not be affected either."
"The capital is full of gods, ghosts, and strange beings. One more will make no difference."
Murasame's divine vessel was actually hidden deep within Ikuta Shrine. Finding it would not be difficult.
"Huh?"
The loli blade froze.
She had never imagined that one day she might be able to live like a normal person.
Judging from Setsuna's words, a spiritual body like her that possessed a weapon was not considered strange at all in the Starsea Empire.
"Master, is that really true? And how did you know about my divine vessel?..."
"Also, why do I feel like you know this world so well? Are there gods in the Starsea Empire too? Is there delicious food there?..."
"Oh, right! Can you introduce me to your companions?..."
Little Murasame pestered Setsuna with question after question. From the origins of the Starsea Empire to the members of the Trailblaze team, every answer only led to even more questions.
She had been bound to Hoori for far too long and had never seen the outside world.
Merely listening to the Angeloids and Sophons explain things made her feel as though her thoughts had flown beyond this tiny mountain village, roaming the distant depths of space alongside towering starships.
She soon became completely absorbed, propping up her head and listening even more attentively than a student in class.
"..."
Setsuna had originally intended to give her a tablet and let her slowly read through everything herself, but seeing how rarely happy and curious the loli blade looked, he patiently answered every one of her questions instead.
Even as the sun neared the horizon, Murasame's enthusiasm remained undiminished.
"Mm... You can ride a spaceship too. Later, I can take you into outer space for a while."
"Don't you often gaze at the moon alone at night? Would you like to visit it?"
"Yes, yes! I want to go today!!—"
The loli blade possessed a natural sense of trust toward Setsuna, the man who had drawn Murasamemaru. It took almost no effort to persuade her.
"I'll be in your care!"
"Ah!"
Yoshino Tomotake had also been listening to Setsuna's stories while thinking to herself.
When she heard that Murasame intended to leave, she suddenly jolted in alarm.
"Wait, Lady Murasame! Lord Setsuna too!!"
She hesitantly raised her hand.
"Um, I know the Starsea Empire is incredible, but there are two problems..."
"Should Lady Murasame and the rest of us leave, Hoori Town will lose the protection of divine power. The curse will continue accumulating and deepening until it eventually causes a disaster."
"Also, um, since you have taken Murasamemaru away, Hoori Town may face a financial crisis..."
Hoori Town's tourism industry had always relied on its hot springs and Murasamemaru. Many tourists visited specifically for the experience of attempting to draw the sword.
Now that Setsuna had taken the divine blade away, that attraction was gone. If the shrine maiden of Ikuta Shrine also disappeared, Yoshino could already foresee the town's visitor numbers plummeting, followed by an economic decline.
The girl was deeply troubled for the sake of Hoori Town and the Tomotake family's future.
Pfft—
"That's all? I thought you were worried about something serious."
Setsuna laughed.
"It's a minor issue. From now on, Hoori Town will be administered by the Starsea Empire. You don't need to concern yourselves with financial crises. We will help modernize the town."
"Or is the Tomotake family currently short on funds? Name a number. You can enter whatever balance you want."
He opened a holographic screen.
Whoosh.
He pushed the interface in front of Yoshino and Mako.
A Sophon casually opened bank accounts for both of them and entered the system's administrative editing mode.
"Huh?!"
Yoshino and Mako jumped in fright.
"Th-This is an account with MUFG Bank? B-But we never opened one..."
"The entire world's financial system has already been taken over by the Empire. This is the administrative interface. You may freely choose however many dollars, yen, or any other currency you desire."
The Sophon replied.
"..."
"Enter our own bank balances?"
The rural girls had never seen anything like this before and were too shocked to speak for quite some time.
"Th-Th-Th-This is completely absurd, isn't it?!"
Mako covered her face and knocked her forehead several times.
She had read plenty of shoujo manga and novels. Even the most overbearing presidents in those stories merely spent money like water, casually throwing around tens or hundreds of millions.
What was this nonsense about customizing one's own bank balance?!
Setsuna and the Starsea Empire were even more outrageous than the characters in her novels and films.
"I'll do it."
Seeing that the two girls were trembling and did not dare touch anything, Gudako stepped forward with practiced ease and entered a long string of nines.
"There. Use that for now. Have the Sophon change it again when you run out."
"...This is really only convenient in a vassal world. We don't need this sort of thing in the capital."
"Huh?!"
Yoshino and Mako remained dumbfounded for quite some time. After counting the digits, the two of them had become the richest people on Earth within five minutes.
"Finished? Then let's deal with the next problem."
Setsuna took a sip of tea and glanced at the darkness outside.
"As for the cursed gods... That's easy. We'll deal with them right now so you can stop worrying."
Yoshino Tomotake possessed an overwhelming sense of responsibility. Setsuna felt that unless Hoori Town's problems were resolved, she truly intended to remain in the countryside as a shrine maiden for the rest of her life, suppressing evil spirits.
"Huh? Right now? So quickly?"
She was completely unprepared.
"Um... Please wait a moment. I need to prepare the votive offering, the cleansing ritual, and..."
"There's no need for all that trouble. Give me your hand."
"Mm..."
Yoshino timidly stepped forward and placed her pale hand in Setsuna's. Several traces of crimson appeared across her cheeks.
Whoosh...
A gentle power poured into her.
Yoshino instantly felt warmth spread throughout her body. The weakness caused by the curse vanished in an instant.
Then...
Setsuna closed his eyes, followed the direction indicated by the curse within Yoshino's body, and reached forward.
Crack.
The authority of the Herrscher of the Void activated, accompanied by the sound of space shattering.
The surrounding world instantly changed color. Dark clouds covered the stars, and a chilling wind howled.
Countless masses of dark, malignant energy were forcibly dragged before them, surrounding the group.
Their appearances were indistinct. Some were humanoid, while others resembled beasts. Their dark-red eyes made them look exceptionally horrifying in the night.
Some of the cursed gods even twisted together, fusing into larger monsters.
"Ah!! Those are cursed gods!!"
Mako Hitachi cried out in alarm. She drew the short blade she carried with her and assumed a fighting stance in front of Yoshino, looking as though she faced a mortal enemy.
"Th-Th-There are far too many of them, aren't there?!"
"Have all the cursed gods in Hoori Town come here?! Why would they come to the shrine?! Isn't this place protected by a barrier?!"
"I dragged them here."
Setsuna yawned.
"Searching for them one at a time would take too long. It is easier to eliminate them all at once and avoid the trouble."
"!!!"
"Master, be careful! I'll help you..."
Murasame did not even finish speaking.
Boom—
Setsuna pressed one hand downward, releasing an oppressive force.
Every cursed god was crushed into dust in the blink of an eye, scattering into countless glittering fragments.
Only one slightly smaller monster remained. Setsuna dragged it over and casually stuffed it into a force-field cage.
"Here. Take this to Herta."
Setsuna tossed the cage to an Angeloid.
"She likes all sorts of strange things from other worlds. The cursed gods are pitifully weak, but one might still make a decent collectible."
"Ababa..."
Yoshino, Mako, and Murasame stared with their mouths slightly open, their expressions blank.
"Commander, this?..."
"It's resolved. Hoori Town will never again face the threat of cursed gods, and the Tomotake bloodline will no longer suffer from the curse."
"Uh..."
The girls felt an intense sense of unreality. A problem that had plagued Hoori Town for several centuries had been resolved in a single minute.
"So this world has already been cleared? I didn't even get to fight!"
The little gray-haired girl held her baseball bat with a face full of disappointment.
"Why are you in such a hurry? This isn't an action-fantasy world."
Bonk—
Setsuna knocked her on the head.
"We finally encountered a peaceful world. Isn't it better to take a few days off, meet some new girls, and throw a few parties together?!"